Career Launchpad: Effective Skills for the Modern Workplace

On successful completion of this module, you will be better able to:

• identify and reflect on personal, transferable skills and experiences, and be able to showcase these in a professional context;
• develop a personal strategy to build and explore different career options based on your personal values, preferences, skills and ambitions;
• effectively communicate professional ideas about yourself and your work in a variety of contexts, both online and in person; 
• collaborate on a presentation and provide constructive peer feedback.

Topics you will cover during the module will include:

• assessing your skills
• teamworking
• creating a good first impression
• communicating and networking
• presenting
• planning for the future
• presentation assessment

This module will be delivered in person in groups of up to 40 students. Each session will be a mixture of taught input, class-based discussion, small group work and peer feedback, to support you in planning and evaluating your career opportunities. Each 2-hour session will combine taught materials alongside interactive elements, to allow you to put your learning into practice.

Written summative assessments are submitted via the module Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). During the interactive taught sessions, you will receive informal feedback on the session tasks from the module leader and also via group feedback, to allow you to consider ways in which to successfully approach the written assignment and the group presentation. You will receive summative feedback with your mark on both assignments via the VLE within two weeks of submission.

• Practical: 8-minute group presentation on an employability related topic, with peer, tutor and guest judge feedback. (50%)
• Practical: Personal development portfolio with five outputs (for example: CV, cover letter, rocket pitch, SMART goals, and a ‘work with me’ document), with a reflective, covering statement of 300 words. (50%)

The module will be assessed by two summative assessments: one group presentation from a choice of topics, which will be assessed by your peers, module tutor and a guest judge.

Second, you will submit a portfolio of activities completed during the module (in class time) with a 300-word reflective statement to be completed at the end of the module. This will draw on the module content and demonstrate your own personal and professional goals, to help you make the most of your time at Imperial.

The reflective statement is the only part that will be graded in the assessment; the class activities/outputs - such as skills assessment and interview skills - will be assessed formatively, through small group/pair feedback with module lead facilitation.

• ECTS value: 0
• Requirements: You must be prepared to attend all classes and to spend about an hour a week preparing for each session
• This module is designed as an undergraduate Level 4 course. For an explanation of levels, view the Imperial Horizons Level Descriptors page.‌

Module materials

Additional reading materials for the module will be made available through the university's library system.